A Toast to Toast

I love toast. Rye, wheat, multi-grain, spelt, cinnamon raisin or sour dough. 

Thick cut rye toast drenched in island creamery butter (I only eat this on vacation)

While on our summer vaca, we waited for 90 minutes to go to The Gazebo for breakfast on the island of Maui near Napili. It was worth it!

The wait for more weight  
Check out their decor inside and the breakfast clock (it has
bacon, eggs and toast instead of numbers- AKA it is
always breakfast time)

My rye toast almost flew away from the tropical breezes
Sarah insisted that it would be worth the wait as we get to sit on the beach overlooking the Pacific enjoying a fabulous breakfast. She was right. So we waited for quite a long time but it was worth the wait (and the extra weight).

The girls split a beautiful Popeye omelet and the banana macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. My guess is the coconut syrup was a reduction of coconut water (sometimes called milk) and cane sugar and vanilla. It was exceptional. I don't know why anyone would put anything else on their pancakes.

I ordered a more basic Swiss cheese omelet with some lovely peppery hash browns but the star for my meal was definitely the incredibly thick buttered rye bread toast. Oh yeah. Talk about a happy carbohydrate camper.

Popeye Omelet for Sarah and Fanny

Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Coconut Syrup and fresh whipped cream

Toast is just a wonderful food. It is the perfect delivery vehicle to hold wild blueberry jam or fresh creamery butter. When I was at summer camp (Winadu), we referred to English Muffins as nush ka puffs. I don't have a clue why but one of my young buddies called it by that nick name and I continue to use it 50 years later. Fanny made me a wonderful breakfast during this family vaca with heirloom cherry tomatoes and fresh basil and it was delivered on a perfectly toasted organic whole wheat English muffin. In case you are wondering, English muffins are about $8.00 a pack on the island. Hawaii is an expensive place for foodies.

Basil, heirloom tomatoes scramble nestled on an organic wheat English muffin

What is it about toast? I think it is in part the memory of home- breakfast being cooked in the kitchen while you are sleeping.Toasting also creates the carmelization of the sugars in the bread so you get a sweetness and the yeasty flavor that connects you to the smell of fresh bread baking at home or in a bakery.

Toast is a happy place. Butter, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar or lathered with an exotic passion fruit preserve, it is one of those foods that is what happiness tastes like. So with all the discussions in Washington about debt, deficits and downgrade of the US Government's credit rating, toast is a safe harbor to protect you from worry. It also is great for mopping up eggs on your plate.

I love toast.

So if you were stranded on a desert island, what type of toast would you bring?

Mahalo.





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